Essence I need a Miracle Volumizing & Strengthening Mascara

I'm quite fond of Essence mascaras and consider their I >3 Extremes waterproof my favourite, but regular formulas aren't always a hit for me and it mostly has to do with how well a formula holds a curl. This mascara promises to tint the lashes, so to make them darker with prolonged use and it claims it strengthens them too.

This has one of the standard brushes, but with an hourglass design. There's never too much product on the wand and it's not a messy mascara. It manages to comb and define the lashes just fine, but it's the formula that doesn't have much hold immediately when applied, so my lashes tend to revert to its messy state, at least on one eye.

Formula: For an Essence mascara, this doesn't create quite as much volume as some of the rest I've tried and I've noticed it doesn't get any more volumizing with age. It still creates a decent amount of volume and it keeps the lashes separated, though for some reason I can only create a great effect on one eye, while the other tends to look messy, which probably has to do with my lashes being squashed behind my glasses. In terms of holding a curl, it's not impressive, though it's not a heavy formula and it doesn't weight it down, but it can't hold the curl that was created.

 As you can see from the picture my lashes drop with this, so it looks like I have much shorter lashes. As far as the tinting and strengthening claims go, I can't say I've seen much, but my natural lashes are pretty dark on their own. They also don't look much stronger, not that I could complain before I started using this anyway.

Price and availability: It costs 3.89 € in drugstores.

This is a natural looking mascara for me and since I've been using it at the same time as my favourite Beyu Beauty Queen, it really didn't stand a chance to impress me. It doesn't hold a curl, which is the main minus in my books, though it's not a bad formula. Its more bold claims of tinting the lashes and strengthening didn't come to pass, not that I was expecting much anyway.

Have a great day!

*PR product.